>> welcome to the the "journal" on dw. the former italian prime minister berlusconi is sentenced to prison for tax fraud. >> no end to the killing in syria as a massive car bomb explodes in damascus. >> and two iranians when the european parliament's procedures human rights award. -- two iranians went -- win the european parliament pose a prestigious human rights award. for one of europe's most colorful and -- one of europe's most colorful and controversial politicians has been sentenced to prison for tax fraud. >> a court in milan has convicted former prime minister berlusconi of defrauding the italian government of millions of yours in unpaid taxes. remedy court gave him a four- year term and said berlusconi had shown a natural capacity for

crime. berlusconi's lawyers condemned the verdict and promised to appeal. >> berlusconi has dominated italian politics for nearly 20 years, perhaps in anticipation of the jail term. earlier this week, berlusconi said he would not contest the next election. although given a four-year sentence, and was immediately reduced to one year due to an amnesty law from 2006. berlusconi was also fined 10 million euros and then form -- from holding public office for 10 years. the head of the media said television empire was accused of running a complex tax evasion system in the 1990's. prosecutors said berlusconi was part of a scheme to purchase broadcast rights to film through offshore companies and then inflate the cost to reduce taxes owed. the former prime minister will remain free until italy's appeal system is exhausted, a process that could be quite lengthy. >> for more on this case, we will tend to john hooper in

rome. berlusconi was sentenced to four years but apparently will only serve one year if at all. how likely is it he will serve any time? >> very unlikely indeed. the italian judicial system is one in which trials take a long time, and there are also very generous statutes of limitation that time out cases often before they have completed the process, which involved two appeals. so there is a long way to run. it is almost certain that sometime late 2013, early 2014, the guillotine will fall, and mr. berlusconi will not have to worry anymore about going to prison at least not as far as this trial is concerned. >> what about other investigations against the

former prime minister? could he get additional time in jail? then he could indeed. the same factor applies as to whether in fact he would have to serve that time, but he is a defendant in three other trials, and by far the most embarrassing for him is the so-called ruby day trial, the one in which he is accused of paying for sex with an underage girl and then using his influence as prime minister to cover up the alleged offense -- the so-called rubygate trial. >> he is almost like the cat with nine lives. does this ruling in his political life at all? >> i think the announcement he made earlier this week did more so than today's conviction, and i think that mr. berlusconi has been seen in recent months -- the support for his party is

declining, despite his fading charisma. i think gradually, italians are confining him to their past. >> john hooper in rome, thank you very much for that. a powerful car bomb has exploded in the syrian capital damascus, killing at least five people and wounding 32 more. >> the attack comes on day one of what was supposed to be a four-day cease-fire for the muslim holiday. >> activists say at least 70 people have been killed in violence across the country. then the bomb exploded when it shot district of damascus, mainly populated by sunni muslims. it detonated by a mosque and a playground set up for the festival. state television said that the victims included children. along with the bomb blast, there were reports of fighting between rebels and government troops on the outskirts of damascus. there are also unconfirmed

reports that the truce is being ignored in other parts of the country. this video uploaded to the internet is said to show clashes in homs in the west. it is impossible to say who first broke the cease-fire, but the fighting is casting a shadow over the festival. >> how can we celebrate? we want to be in syria, but the criminal assad is killing. >> they are stopping our women and children from celebrating. we are living in a camp. they are destroying our homes. how can we celebrate? there is no reason to celebrate. >> the syrian president did celebrate and appeared on television for friday prayers. even before the truce came into effect, there was skepticism it would hold. the car bomb in damascus and fighting across the country have confirmed those doubts. >> a suicide bomber has killed more than 40 people including five children in a mosque in

northern afghanistan. the bomb disguised himself as a police officer and struck after prayers for the holiday. >> nobody has yet claimed responsibility for that attack. it is believed it was revenge for the recent killing of a local television leader. it comes amid plans to withdraw foreign troops by the end of 2014. >> the man blew himself up as people left the mosque. many of the dead were policemen. the bomb was struck -- the bomber struck as the police chief got into his car, only narrowly escaping death. on the muslim festival of sacrifice. >> the attack margin a number of afghan police -- martyred in number of afghan police. the taliban has said muslims into morning. >> the afghan president condemned the attack and called on moderate taliban to join his

government. he said the attackers are the enemies of islam, and he is praying for peace in afghanistan. in berlin, the foreign minister promised germany's continued support. >> we will not let up in our efforts to work with afghanis and build a better, more peaceful future for afghanistan. this barbaric attack will not stop us from standing with the children, the families come the people of afghanistan as they forged towards a better future. >> for now, there's little sign of peace in afghanistan. the violence keeps getting worse, and the pullout of western troops looms. >> one of europe's top human rights awards has gone to two iranians, a filmmaker and a

human-rights lawyer. >> the president of european parliament in strasbourg praised them for their courage in the face of intimidation, saying they put the fate of their country before their own. and he uses his cell phone to film his cameraman, who in turn films him. it is a scene from the director's latest project in which he is shown doing nothing. it is called "this is not a film, quarter in a dig at the ban on filmmaking he faces in his home country of iran -- "this is not a film," a day get the ban on filmmaking. the european parliament has awarded him and most prestigious honor. >> we all wore this distinction to express our solidarity and our profound respect for a man and woman who refused to back out to scare tactics and intimidation in iran.

they have instead decided to value the destiny of their country of of their own personal fate. >> the other winner as a lawyer who fought for years to advance women's rights in iran. she later defended students in court who were arrested for demonstrated -- arrested for demonstrating against mahmoud ahmadinejad. as a result, she herself was sentenced to 11 years in prison. then he is banned from travelling abroad, but the european parliament has urged iran to let the winners go to strasbourg in december to collect their prizes in person. >> now for some business news, new figures show that american economic activity picked up in the third quarter of the year. >> the u.s. commerce department says the economy grew by an annual rate of 2%, thanks mainly to increased consumer spending, a recovery in the housing market, and an uptick in government spending.

analysts say that shows the u.s. economy is improving, but only very slowly and not by enough to bring down unemployment significantly. on to the markets, and german blue chips managed to lock in solid gains on the last day of the trading week. our correspondence sent us this summary of the action from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> good news from the american economy that really brought the dax up to speed. it turned around and started gaining and held those until the end. the fact that the german consumer confidence was at a five-year high due to stable incomes and a labor market was not an issue here that really propelled share prices forward. for the week, the picture is different. the dax losing about 2%. people worried about the debt crisis and above all its effect on individual companies, and investors could see what effect that had in many quarterly

results that were published this week. next week will be above all the results of the deutsche bank that will play a big role here. >> we stake in frankfurt for a closer look at friday's numbers. the dax finished the week at 7231, up 5.4% on the friday trading session. -- up by more than 0.4% on the friday trading session. the dow jones trading slightly higher at this hour. the euro trading at a value of $1.2936. unemployment in spain had a new high with the jobless rate at just above 25%. >> almost 5.8 million spaniards are now without a job, up by 85,000 in three months to september. when i intend spanish households now has no working family member. the jobless rate is expected to grow further as the government's new austerity measures begin to

bite. the east coast of the u.s. is bracing itself for hurricane sandy. the storm barreled its way through the caribbean killing 38 people so far. >> most of those killed were located in eastern cuba, which was hit by high winds and heavy rain. >> the southeast coast of the island was badly hit. hundreds of homes were damaged as hurricanes in the continued to wreak havoc. nearby, these pictures show the scale of the devastation. winds tore through the coastal region of 130 kilometers an hour, dislodging trees and electricity poles and blowing the roots of people's homes. >> i have lived hereyears, and i have never seen anything like this -- entire houses were flying around us. it was unbelievable. >> haiti suffered severe flooding, even though the country avoided a direct hit

from the storm. "where am i supposed to take my children?" this woman asked. two point -- two and a half years after suffering a devastating earthquake, many haitians are having to start from scratch once again. the storm is now heading towards the east coast of the u.s. with winds and rain from sandy already being felt in florida. schools in the state put the southern counties have been close, and the emergency services have been placed on alert. forecasters have warned the city could hit the northeast of the united states early next week. >> to sports and in golf, some of the world's best players are taking part in bmw master's in shanghai this weekend. >> peter house and currently tops the leader board with a score of 40 under par, but he will have to be careful of his teammate, who is just two shots behind him.

sunday's winner will pick up a check for 900,000 euros. in formula one champion ship, the leader looks at another the weakened at the indiana grand prix on sunday. >> the german driver dominated both practice sessions, sending a clear signal to his competitors that he plans to back his fourth grand prix win in a row on sunday. his teammate was not far behind, however. his fiercest rival in the championship came in third in both sessions. watch out. ferrari still pretty fast. but maybe not fast enough. >> maybe not. we will be right back after the break. do not go away.

>> welcome back. the eu calls it a test for

democracy in the ukraine. the country is holding parliamentary elections of the weekend, and the ruling party and opposition wrapped up their campaigns with final rallies. >> politicians from the party of the regions appeared -- appeal to voters to support them at a rally in kiev. analysts predicted they will win. meanwhile, the opposition rally next door, but its leader could not attend as she is serving a seven-year jail sentence. however, the opposition have another heavyweight in their corner. >> blue is the color of the governing party. she will be casting her ballot for the months ended. the party of the region's supports the president, and promises voters stability and affluence. they hope that will convince people to cast their votes for the ruling party. >> we need strong leadership in ukraine. we need a team of experienced politicians and good specialists.

we need people who understand what they are doing. we do not need a boxer. he should stick to sports. >> many are pinning their hopes on the reigning world heavyweight champion. people like this man who feels cheated by the established politicians. he says they are just in it to fill their own pockets. he thinks this candidate is different. there are no questions about where his wealth came from. he earned it by fighting. >> he is a boxer? so what? this is a man who has taken his own behalf. he did it all himself. he has the talent to do good for the country. them the boxer is pledging to knock out corruption and enforce

the rule of law, and he is promising to create jobs and raise living standards. >> we have a lot of support. we are the second-biggest party. our goal is not just to be in power. it is to turn ukraine into a modern european nation and to beat corruption. >> in 2004, he threw his weight behind orange revolution, one of hundreds of thousands who protested against the vote rigging. the leaders of the orange movement fell out after coming to power. urgently needed reforms fell by the wayside. ukrainians turn back. the fright for more democracy and freedom seemed to be over. now, many are simply hoping for a better life. many readers are out of work. those who do have jobs often take home less than 400 euros a month, barely enough to get by

on. a lot of people are unhappy. >> we need people in power who do not just make promises, but who do something with their own hands and their own minds, not just at the cost of the taxpayer. then he sees politicians of all parties as puppets from the oligarchs who got rich from privatize state assets. there are fears that the governing party of regions could try to rig the outcome of this parliamentary elections. accusations of vote-buying have surfaced. but she thinks that is just propaganda. she says the governing party just needs more time -- time to modernize the former soviet state. she will be voting for continuity. >> people like us who leads stressful lives and have families, want stability. i hope i am not the only one. i hope others see things that way as well.

member for her, the choice is clear, but she admits that this time, the governing party will have a fight on its hands. they face a strong opposition, spurred on by widespread discontent. >> next door in russia, opposition leader -- the opposition leader has been charged with planning mass riots. >> he was among the leaders of a series of anti-putin protests in december 2011. he has called the charges a disgrace for russia. if convicted, he could face up to 10 years in jail. two other activists have also been charged. the former leading chinese politician has been expelled from the national people's congress, stripping him of the last official position he had and with it, his parliamentary immunity. >> the decision clears the way for the 63-year-old to face trial over allegations of bribery and corruption. the move is the latest development in the scandal that has destroyed the premier of the

former leader. in august, his wife was convicted of murdering a british businessman. while there are still plenty of jobs on offer in germany, businesses here complaint of a chronic shortage of skilled workers to fill those positions. >> to help stem the shortage, the economics ministry and the german agency for international cooperation will unveil a new website that aims to attract skilled workers to germany. >> it has only been online for couple of months, but this web portal designed to attract workers to germany has already racked up over 350,000 visitors from around the world. qualified workers interested in careers in germany can find out what working and living in germany can offer them. it also gives potential employees from countries like india, indonesia, and vietnam direct access to advisers from the department of international

cooperation. >> we're the people working out in this country's, only to promote opportunities, but also to provide the initial information to interested people. for instance on these issues, professional qualifications, and many technical questions that can come up. >> are 42% of german companies report a shortage of skilled workers. with its new website, the agency for international corp. hopes to attract highly qualified applicants with expertise in math, i.t., the natural sciences, and technology. >> off to the world of fashion now, which this we can be found not on the catwalks of milan, paris, or new york, but in south africa. >> that is right. african as well as international labels are showcasing the latest designs at the fashion week in johannesburg. >> african fashion has lately swung into the international

spotlight with design is replacing bold colors and patterns with more contemporary designs. >> modern and confident -- the latest in south african fashion. the show was the hit of the festival. her cutting its creations have wowed critics. >> the techniques that i use, they make you feel -- like this one is not like what we know or what our people know. >> she is not the only hit designer here. african fashion has never been more popular. designers from ghana, morocco, and 10 other african countries have been showing off their creations in johannesburg. behind the scenes, for has been flying. african fashion is plugged into international trends. >> i am very excited because are

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